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<h1>Giving and receiving in Japanese</h1>

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<ol>
<li><a href="#part1">Japanese people like gifts</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2">When to use 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3">Using 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」and 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 for the third person</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4">When to use 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5">Asking favors with 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 or 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえる</span>」</a></li>
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<h2 id="part1">Japanese people like gifts</h2>
One thing about Japanese culture is that they're big on giving gifts.  There are many different customs involving giving and receiving
gifts (<span title="おせいぼ - year-end presents" class="popup">お歳暮</span>、<span title="おちゅうげん - Bon Festival gifts" class="popup">お中元</span>、etc.) and when Japanese people go traveling, you can be sure that they're going to be picking up souvenirs to take back
as gifts.  Even when attending marriages or funerals, people are expected to give a certain amount of money as a gift to help fund the ceremony.
You can see why properly learning how to express the giving and receiving of favors and items is a very important and useful skill.
For some reason, the proper use of 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」、「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」、and 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」 has always haunted people studying Japanese as being horribly complex and intractable.
I hope to prove in this section that it is conceptually quite straightforward and simple.

<h2 id="part2">When to use 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」</h2>
「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」 is the Japanese word for "to give" seen from the speaker's point of view.  You must use this verb when you are giving something
or doing something for someone else.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>に<span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<em><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげた</span></em>。
<br />- I gave present to friend.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>に<em><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span></em>。
<br />- I'll give this to teacher.
</p>

<p>In order to express the giving of a favor (verb) you must use the ever useful te-form and then attach 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」.
This applies to all the other sections in this lesson as well.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="くるま - car" class="popup">車</span>を<em><span title="かう - buy" class="popup">買って</span><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span></em>よ。
<br />- I'll give you the favor of buying a car.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="かわり - substitute" class="popup">代わり</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行って</span><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span></em>。
<br />- I'll give you the favor of going in your place.
</p>

<p>For third-person, this verb is used when the speaker
is looking at it from the giver's point of view.  We'll see the significance of this when we examine the verb 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 next.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>が<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>を<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>に<em><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span></em>。
<br />- The student give this to teacher. (looking at it from the student's point of view)
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<span title="ちち - father" class="popup">父</span>に<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>を<em><span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげた</span></em>。
<br />- Friend gave the favor of teaching something good to my dad. (looking at it from the friend's point of view)
</p>

<h3>Using 「<span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やる</span>」 to mean 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」</h3>
Usually used for pets, animals, and such, you can substitute 「<span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やる</span>」, which normally means "to do", for 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」.
You would normally never use this type of 「やる」 for people.  I only included this so that you won't be confused by sentences like the following.

<p>（１）　<span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>に<span title="えさ - food for animals" class="popup">餌</span>を<em><span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やった</span></em>？ - Did you give the dog food?
<br />Here, 「<span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やる</span>」 does not mean "to do" but "to give".  You can tell because "doing food to dog" doesn't make any sense.
</p>

<h2 id="part3">When to use 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」</h2>
「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 is also a verb meaning "to give" but unlike 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」, it is from the receiver's point of view.  You must use this verb when
someone <i>else</i> is giving something or doing something for you (effectively the opposite of 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」).

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>に<span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれた</span></em>。
<br />- Friend gave present to me.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は、<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれた</span></em>。
<br />- Teacher gave this to me.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="くるま - car" class="popup">車</span>を<em><span title="かう - buy" class="popup">買って</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span></em>の？
<br />- You'll give me the favor of buying a car for me?
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="かわり - substitute" class="popup">代わり</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行って</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span></em>？
<br />- Will you give me the favor of going in my place?
</p>

<p>Similarly, when used in the third-person, the speaker is speaking from the receiver's point of view and not the giver.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>を<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>に<em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span></em>。
<br />- The teacher give this to student. (looking at it from the student's point of view)
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<span title="ちち - father" class="popup">父</span>に<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>を<em><span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれた</span></em>。
<br />- Friend gave favor of teaching something good to my dad. (looking at it from the dad's point of view)
</p>

<center>The following diagram illustrates the direction of giving from the point of view of the speaker.
<br />
<img src="favordiag.gif" alt="Favor Diagram" /></center>
<p>From the speaker's point of view, all the giving done to others "go up" to everybody else while the giving done by everybody else "goes down"
to the speaker.  This is probably related
to the fact that there is an identical verb 「<span title="あげる - to raise" class="popup">上げる</span>」 meaning "to raise" that contains
the character for "above" （<span title="うえ - above" class="popup">上</span>） and that the
honorific version of 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 is
「<span title="くださる - to give (hon)" class="popup">下さる</span>」  with the character for down
（<span title="した - below" class="popup">下</span>）. This restriction allows us to make certain deductions from vague sentences like the following:</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><em><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span></em>んですか。
<br />- Teacher, will you be the one to give favor of teaching to... [anybody other than the speaker]?
</p>
<p>
Because all giving done to the speaker must always use 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」, we know that the teacher must be doing it for someone else and <i>not the
speaker</i>.  The speaker is also looking at it from the teacher's point of view as doing a favor for someone else.
</p>

<p>（２）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span></em>んですか。
<br />- Teacher, will you be the one to give favor of teaching to... [anybody including the speaker]?
</p>
<p>
Because the giver is not the speaker, the teacher is either giving to the speaker or anyone else.  The speaker is viewing it from the
receiver's point of view as receiving a favor done by the teacher.
</p>

<p>Let's see some mistakes to watch out for.
<br />（誤）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span><em><strike><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれました</span></strike></em>。- 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 is being used as giving done by the speaker. (Wrong)
<br />（正）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span><em><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげました</span></em>。- I gave favor of eating it all. (Correct)
</p>

<p>（誤）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>に<em><strike><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげた</span></strike></em>。- 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」 is being used as giving to the speaker. (Wrong)
<br />（正）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>に<em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれた</span></em>。- Friend gave present to me. (Correct)
</p>

<h2 id="part4">When to use 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」</h2>
「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」 meaning, "to receive" has only one version unlike 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>／<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 so there's very little to explain.  One thing to point out
is that since you receive <i>from</i> someone, 「から」 is also appropriate in addition to the 「に」 <a href="particles2.html#part3">target particle</a>.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>に</em><span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<em><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらった</span></em>。
<br />- I received present from friend.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>から</em><span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<em><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらった</span></em>。
<br />- I received present from friend.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>に<em><span title="かう - buy" class="popup">買って</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらった</span></em>。
<br />- About this, received the favor of buying it from friend.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<span title="チェック - check" class="popup">チェック</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらいたかった</span></em>けど、<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なくて</span><span title="むり - impossible" class="popup">無理</span>だった。
<br />- I wanted to receive the favor of checking homework but there was no time and it was impossible.
</p>


<p>
「もらう」 is seen from the perspective of the receiver, so in the case of first-person, others usually don't receive things from you. However, you might want to use 「<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>から<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」 when you want
to emphasive that fact that the other person received it from you. For instance, if you wanted to say, "Hey, I  <em>gave</em> you that!" you would use 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」. However, you would use 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」 if you wanted to say, "Hey, you <em>got</em> that from me!"
</p>

<p>
（５）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="とけい - watch" class="popup">時計</span>は<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>から<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらった</span>のよ。
<br />- [He] received that watch from me.
</p>


<h2 id="part5">Asking favors with 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 or 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえる</span>」</h2>
You can make requests by using 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 and the potential form of 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」 (can I receive the favor of...).  We've already seen an example of this in example （４） of the 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 section.
Because requests are favors done for the speaker, you cannot use 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」 in this situation.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="せんえん - 1000 yen" class="popup">千円</span>を<span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>？
<br />- Will you give me the favor of lending 1000 yen?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="せんえん - 1000 yen" class="popup">千円</span>を<span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえる</span>？
<br />- Can I receive the favor of you lending 1000 yen?
</p>

<p>Notice that the two sentences essentially mean the same thing.  This is because the giver and receiver has been omitted because it is obvious
from the context.  If we were to write out the full sentence, it would look like this:
</p>

<p>
（１）　<em><span title="あなた - you" class="popup">あなた</span>が</em>、<em><span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>に</em><span title="せんえん - 1000 yen" class="popup">千円</span>を<span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>？
<br />- Will you give me the favor of lending 1000 yen?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<em><span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が</em>、<em><span title="あなた - you" class="popup">あなた</span>に</em><span title="せんえん - 1000 yen" class="popup">千円</span>を<span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえる</span>？
<br />- Can I receive the favor of you lending 1000 yen?
</p>

<p>
It is not normal to explicitly include the subject and target like this when directly addressing someone but is provided here to illustrate the
change of subject and target depending on the verb 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 and 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえる</span>」.
</p>
<p>You can use the negative to make the request a little softer.  You'll see that this is true in many other types of
grammar.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ちょっと - little" class="popup">ちょっと</span><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span><em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれない</span></em>？
<br />- Won't you be a little quieter?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="かんじ - kanji" class="popup">漢字</span>を<span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書いて</span><em><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえません</span></em>か。
<br />- Can you write this in kanji for me?
</p>

<h3>Asking someone to not do something</h3>

<p>In order to request that someone <i>not</i> do something, you simply attach 「で」 to the negative form of the verb and proceed as before.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べない</span><em>で</em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれます</span>か。
<br />- Can you not eat it all?
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="たかい - expensive" class="popup">高い</span><span title="もの - object" class="popup">物</span>を<span title="かう - buy" class="popup">買わない</span><em>で</em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>？
<br />- Can you not buy expensive thing(s)?
</p>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/5/19
Fixed typo in example translation (2005/5/12)
Spread layout and improved 「もらう」 examples (2005/5/19)
</pre></div>


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